—————————————————— Best Mac -n- Cheese 2012 | BRC Gastropub | Best of Houston® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Houston | Houston Press
Photo by Troy Fields

Of all the incarnations of macaroni and cheese served in a miniature cast-iron skillet that have decorated menus in the past few years, BRC's interpretation of this dish is the best. And that's because the gastropub keeps it smartly simple, with elbow macaroni soaking up a sharp cheddar sauce that's silky-smooth and subtly salty. A sprinkling of bread crumbs on top gives each bite a pleasant, crunchy texture, and three other twists are all equally good for those who want to spice it up further: loaded brisket nacho with queso; blue cheese with chicken-fried bacon; and burger-style, which comes with chunks of hamburger and bacon throughout.

As far as food celebrities go in Houston, Top Chef: Just Desserts season two contestant Rebecca Masson is definitely one of our most famous. But her fame isn't just of the TV kind. People familiar with her desserts become devoted fans of everything, from her French-style macarons to her famous fluffer nutters. Her cupcakes at Revival Market, however, definitely take the cake in terms of most delicious cupcake bite ever. The infamous "Veruca Salt" — salted-caramel butter-cream topping with delicious devil's food cake — is decadent, moist, gooey and mouthwateringly good. Other quirky, fun cupcake flavors like Strawberry Quik, red hot red velvet, birthday cake, Irish car bomb and more are also must-haves, but it's the Veruca Salt cupcake that readily inspires rapturous adoration.

Photo by Houston Press staff

Gourmet once called chef Marco Wiles's flagship restaurant, Da Marco, "as close to Italy as you can get without leaving Texas," and this still holds true. Part of that is due to Wiles's insistence on flying in the best Italian ingredients on a weekly basis such as fresh Mediterranean seafood and items for its separate cheese menu — yes, Da Marco has its own cheese menu. And part of that is due to Wiles's deep knowledge of Italian cuisine made modern, seen in dishes such as branzino carpaccio with pine nuts and foie gras or simple, house-made ravioli with ricotta and shaved truffles.

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